Fighting stage 4 prostate cancer
Having a period of time off work for my cancer treatment allowed me a lot of time for self-exploration.
Initially the goal was to find the silver bullet for the cancer.
But there is no silver bullet, and I became focused on the marginal gains – anything and everything that would allow my body to get to a state of equilibrium, or perhaps better.
One thing I have struggled with is productivity and focus.
(more…)Yesterday was Cancer Survivors Day.
19 years ago today I lost my Mum to cancer. She was 54.
I found a letter from her recently. She was sending me a document and couldn’t miss “the opportunity of an envelope going to [me] without putting a note in it”.
It’s taken me some time to get to the place to share this.
When I wrote Managing Prostate Cancer as a Chronic condition – Fighting Stage 4 I was about to embark on a process of SABR radiotherapy on two metastatic spots of cancer growth that appeared to be progressing despite my Androgen Deprivation Therapy and Hormone therapy.
In short, it seemed that some of my cancer cells had become castrate resistant – i.e. evolved beyond hormone control.
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If you could design one day to show the best of what Britain could be, I challenge you to design something better than the London Marathon.
I’m not just talking about the elites who seem to keep pushing the boundaries of human possibility.
When I was first diagnosed with aggressive, advanced, Stage IV prostate cancer, I was told it was incurable but that we should be able to managed it as a chronic disease for years (but not decades).
I didn’t really know what that meant, but I am beginning to get an insight and I thought I would start sketching out some of my insights as part of my approach to dealing with this.
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I keep seeing posts about “Blue Monday”.
Personally, I am feeling pretty pumped about what 2026 may bring.
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As part of my “Above Average” series, to avoid living from PSA test to PSA test, scan to scan, I have been setting myself a series of life challenges to focus on my health, in the firm belief that these will help my long term prospects.
But Golf?
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It’s my last day of locoregional modulated electro-hyperthermia (150W modulated bioelectromagnetism for 90 minutes to the pelvis) today.
Quite the mouthful.
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My brother and I taught ourselves squash during university holidays — a slightly healthier form of brotherly bonding than our usual diet of computer games and Games Workshop. Now, it’s in my plan to get “Above Average” to help me fight my stage 4 Prostate Cancer.
Squash was about as “cool” as Games Workshop in those days (are either any cooler these days?), which meant the courts at our local leisure centre were both cheap and usually available (whatever the weather, occasionally requiring several layers, or a bucket). We’d easily battle for more than the 45 minutes giving up only if they finally turned out the lights. Soaked and exhausted, we’d often pick up a bag of chips on the way home.
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As part of my series to use exercise to control my prostate cancer (Can I get “above average” with Prostate Cancer?) one of my key goals is to improve my running.
I’ve never had a great relationship with running. I did the Paris Marathon in 2011 in an attempt to see if I could get myself to like it. I enjoyed one 10km training run home from my then Girlfriend’s (now wife) flat to my flat in London after couple of beers and a trip to the cinema where we enjoyed some caramel popcorn. Thus began a series of over-carb-loading and under training.
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Fighting Stage 4 